Miyazaki father and son team up for 'From Up on Poppy Hill' film

March 14, 2013|Reuters

By Zorianna Kit

LOS ANGELES, March 14 (Reuters) - Japanese animator HayaoMiyazaki and his Studio Ghibli have, under their belt, some ofJapan's biggest global anime movie successes, including"Princess Mononoke" and "Spirited Away," which won an AcademyAward in 2003.

Far less known, until now, was Miyazaki's son Goro, whoworked as a landscaper for years so as not to compete with hisfamous father, but later designed the Ghibli Museum in Tokyo anddebuted as a director in 2006 with "Tales from Earthsea."

Now, for the first time, the pair has teamed up on a film,with Hayao, 72, as co-writer and 46-year-old Goro as director,overcoming a contentious relationship stretching back years.

"From Up on Poppy Hill," opening in U.S. movie theaters onFriday, is set in Japan in 1963 and focuses on a high schoolromance threatened by a secret.

Goro Miyazaki talked to Reuters recently, via a translator,about working with his father, a man he was once estranged from.

Q: Umi, the female protagonist in "Poppy Hill," has beenraising flags for a decade for her deceased father. While yoursis very much alive and well, did Umi's longing for her dad stirup anything for you when it comes to your own famous father?

A: The common thread between myself and the character isthat the dad was always out working and was never really around.I'd be lying to you if I didn't say that there were times when Ithought that maybe my dad should have died a little earlier,just as the character did. I feel like I can really empathizewith a child's longing for an absent father.

Q: Now that you're working together, how closely was yourfather involved in the making of "Poppy Hill?"

A: He said, "I will take care of the planning and thescreenplay and everything else is your responsibility." That wasthe agreement on the roles. But once we began work, he wouldcome around, wander into the room and instead of talking to medirectly, he would start looking at the artwork on the walls andmutter suggestions on how to do things a little bit this way, alittle bit that way. He never came and talked to me directly.

Q: Did you have to accept his suggestions?

A: More often than not, his advice really hit the mark. Sobegrudgingly, I often had to take it.

Q: You seem like reluctant working partners. How long doesthis date back to?

A: Shortly after I started making my first film, I had ahuge fight with my father. For a long time we didn't talk. Hewas opposed to the idea of me directing a film. He felt that itwould be ridiculous for somebody with no experience to, all of asudden, go into directing. He would tell me about how much hehad to struggle in his days to get to that place where he couldhave the opportunity.

Q: What helped you reconcile?

A: Having my (now four-year old) son - his grandson -allowed us to start talking again.

Q: Has your last name been a help or hindrance in yourcareer?

A: Both. The opportunity I received to make this filmobviously had something to do with the family name. But once youmake the film and it goes out into the world, that name becomesa heavy burden.

Q: Because you're judged by the standards set by yourfather's work?

A: I think that is true. But it all comes down to how I dealwith it. Until recently, I was very jaded about that wholething, but now (I've turned the corner) and the reason for thatactually ties in to my next project, which unfortunately I can'tdisclose at the moment.

Q: How similar are you and your father?

A: We're both short-tempered and also a little bit dark whenit comes down to it, way down deep.

Q: How are you not alike?

A: This may be partly due to the different worlds that wewere born into and the different generations, but Hayao Miyazakiis an idealist. He thinks in terms of how people should be, howthe world should be.

Q: Where does that stem from?

A: That comes from the fact that he grew up in this post-warperiod where things were changing and people had this strongideal about how society should behave. Those of us who were bornduring a time when that society was much more structuredalready, we can't share that same sentiment.

Q: This post-war period is exactly the time period "PoppyHill" is set in. Why do you think he wrote it for you to direct?

A: It was a time that most Japanese look fondly upon as theone time things were just right. It's after the war and theravages. It's that point in history where Japan was able toenjoy a brief moment of peace.